A Close Encounter with Food, Culture and Identity

All New Home-made Dishes

If you happen to be passing the streets of Manila, particular along Dapitan street (near Blumentritt and the Pontifical University of Santo Tomas in Espana) I strongly suggest that you visit a small karenderia named Goto My Place located at #1919 Kundiman cor. Dapitan street, Sampaloc, Manila. Although it’s a local food house, there you will find home-made delicacies that will surely enchant your palate.

I visited the karinderia in one occasion and I tried two (2) of their bestsellers. So here we go:

The good’ ol Pork Sisig

‘Sisig’ is a popular appetizer turned main dish that originated from the culinary province, Pampanga. Originally, the dish is composed of chopped pigs face and ears with chicken liver. Hundreds of variations are available today ranging from the original pigs face ingredient to a more health-conscious seafood mix such as squid, tuna, milk fish (bangus), and mussels.

The one that I tried has was served in a hot sizzling plate, has a crunchy consistency and a creamy taste because of the combination of mayonnaise and egg.

Ginataang Paco

Paco is a local term for the tender sprouts of a vegetable fern (the edibles ones to be precise) I was told that during the old days ambulant vendors used to pass houses and people could buy bunchesfrom them. But now a days, paco is rather hard to find. So when you spot bunches at the market make sure you won’t miss them and cook them for dinner. Some people like to prepare paco as a salad; though I haven’t tried that. But it was introduced to me with smoked fish flakes and coconut cream. Yummy!

So if you’re squeamish about the idea of trying new foods, consider this local food stop. Not only do new tastes stimulate your palate, they can create new connections in your brain. It will most definitely broaden your cooking horizons and expand the way you think about good home-made food, and maybe even give you some ideas for making dinner at home.